• Acquisition of a 273 ha of land adjacent to existing Crown lands designated as a Wildlife Management Area (WMA) to provide more opportunities for public hunting and secure key parcels of habitat for management purposes.

• Acquire private lands offered for sale that will provide additional opportunities for public hunting on those lands that may be required for management purposes.

Specific Habitat Products/Results to be Supported by WHC's Contributions
Wildlife Habitat Canada funding assistance is requested to accelerate land acquisition (e.g. acquire and protect approximately 273 ha of land adjacent to Delta Marsh).

Click here for a (pdf) copy of the Delta Marsh, Manitoba Rehabilitation project news release dated April 20, 2007.

• Acquired land will provide nesting, brood rearing and staging habitat for waterfowl, as well as habitat for other wildlife.
• Waterfowl hunters and local Métis guides and trappers will have more opportunities for their activities.
• Opportunities for eco-tourism and scientific research will be enhanced.

Relevance to Habitat Planning, Decision Making and/or Management
The acquisition of additional lands for the WMA will rationalize its boundaries and provide a buffer area between agricultural lands and the marsh.

• Manitoba Conservation: Wildlife and Ecosystem Protection Branch: additional habitat and improvements to the quality of the habitat will attract more wildlife to the area resulting in an increase in local wildlife populations.
• Ducks Unlimited Canada: improvement to the habitat will re-establish waterfowl breeding and staging areas resulting in an increase in the number of waterfowl.
• Delta Waterfowl Foundation: increased opportunities for research and youth hunting programs.
• Delta Marsh Field Station (University of Manitoba): this project will increase research opportunities.
• Hunters: additional opportunities for public hunting.
• Trappers: additional opportunities for trapping.
• Ecotourists: improved quality of ecotourism opportunities.

Project Location
Delta Marsh is an 18,000 ha freshwater coastal wetland at the south end of Lake Manitoba. It is a vast complex consisting of interconnected bays separated from the lake by a sandy beach ridge. There are only two channels connecting the marsh to Lake Manitoba, the Delta Channel in the resort community of Delta Beach at the west end and the Clandeboye Channel at the east end.

Delta Marsh is recognized as a Ramsar Wetland of International significance, a Canadian Important Bird Area, and as a Manitoba Heritage Marsh. In June of 2006, the Crown lands within the marsh were designated as a provincial Wildlife Management Area and included in Manitoba's Network of Protected Areas.

The location of Delta Marsh is depicted in map 1, and the properties that should be acquired to rationalize the boundaries of the Delta Marsh Wildlife Management Area and facilitate management of the marsh are illustrated in map 2 and map 3.

Project Contact
For more information on this project, please contact Lorne Colpitts, Chief Executive Officer, Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation.